by Aneko Yusagi
I felt like my muscles were burned.
The last time I’d taken damage that bad was when I’d used blood sacrifice.
Actually, it felt worse than that.
That was close. If I’d still been using the Whale Magic Core Shield, I probably would have been vaporized.
“Master?!”
“Mr. Naofumi?!”
I wanted to cast a healing spell on myself, but I couldn’t concentrate.
A second later a warm, healing light fell on me.
I saw my wounds heal themselves, but it would still be a while before they healed completely.
“Zweite Heal!”
I cast a healing spell on myself and blocked the tortoise’s foot that was swinging at me to finish me off.
Yes, I could think again. I assumed that the queen had cast a spell to save me.
Someone had saved me anyway. Apparently the Soul Eater Shield wasn’t powerful enough to block that last breath attack.
Luckily, the tortoise needed to recharge if it wanted to use that attack again.
I turned to survey the damage. Everywhere aside from where I’d protected was completely uprooted and destroyed. A mountain in the distance had been ruined. It had been reduced to a pile of rocks.
“Filo, charge up your magic power.”
“Okay!”
I had a bottle of magic water prepared for times like these. I tossed it to Filo.
The Spirit Tortoise had noticed that we were still moving. It formed another magic circle in the air and raised a foot to crush us.
But I wouldn’t let it!
“Shield prison!”
A cage of shields appeared around the force field.
There was a cacophony of clanging against the shields, but when the shield prison broke, the force field beneath it stopped the foot.
I wasn’t sure if it could withstand the tortoise’s bodyweight though.
The barrier started to crack—it wouldn’t hold out much longer.
“We’re moving. Stick with me! Whatever you do, don’t step out of the barrier.”
There was no need to just stand there and let the monster step on us.
“Okay!”
“Okaaay!”
“Fehh . . . Alright.”
Once all five of them agreed, we took off running from the Spirit Tortoise’s foot.
There was a crash and an earthquake where the foot came down. Clouds of dust billowed up around it.
None of the dust crossed the shooting star shield barrier.
“Well, we were able to withstand it, for now.”
“It looks like he can’t find us in all the dust.”
“It looks like he thinks he already got you, doesn’t it? Is your magic already depleted?”
Maybe he could sense our magic power to find out where we were.
You could tell just by looking at the tortoise that it had lost us in the dust clouds.
Or I wondered if it used the eyes of its servant monsters to figure out where things were.
“Ugh . . . But our chance to attack...”
Familiars were dropping heavily out of the air all around us.
The tortoise was unsure. Maybe it was trying to check and see if we were dead.
There was no time—what to do?
“We don’t have another attack, do we?”
“We do, but it’s not ready.”
“Right. Using it once is exhausting.”
It sounded like they had a plan.
But if they could only attack once there could be a problem. If the attack didn’t kill the monster, we’d have to retreat.
“Raphtalia, can you use that thing again?”
“Yes, you mean the special attack I do with Eclair?”
“Yeah. Do your best!”
“Okay!”
“I’ll help the bird god loosen up a bit!”
The old lady ran around Filo and punched her here and there.
“Ouch! Stop that!”
“Old lady, stop being a pain.”
The old lady seemed to enjoy causing Filo pain. Creep.
“Huh? I kinda feel good! Master!”
“Oh yeah? I guess those were pressure points or something.”
She was a teacher of an impressive school of martial arts after all. And this was a different universe. I guess she could do things like that.
So that was good news.
“Can I leave this up to you two?”
We’d gotten in a good hit at its throat before. With any luck, maybe we could finish it off.
“Leave it to us.”
“Yeah.”
Raphtalia and Filo both crouched into position for their strongest attacks.
I recognized Filo’s immediately.
She started to flap her wings.
She was focusing her magic power, and it was strong enough to see with the naked eye. A whirling vortex of wind appeared behind her.
“I’m almost ready, sis!”
“I need more time.”
Raphtalia’s tail was all puffed up.
Then it grew even puffier. A number of magic circles, like mandalas, appeared all around her. She was condensing all of her magic power.
“———!”
The tortoise noticed them and started to lurch in their direction.
Damn. The dust had started to clear. He must have seen us!”
Just like last time, the Spirit Tortoise opened its mouth wide and howled.
Its torso started to glow, too. It was definitely about to use that electric attack again.
I thought we’d have more time!
“He’s attacking! Are you ready yet?!”
“We just need a little more time!”
“Fine. I’ll block it again. Use the extra time to charge your attacks as much as you can.”
“Okaaaay!”
“Understood.”
To survive the attack I would need to have the shooting star shield barrier in place.
I tried to recall what I’d learned in my week of training.
I didn’t know if I could do it yet, but I needed to try.
I focused all my magic into my hands.
“Shooting star shield! Air strike shield! Second shield! Dritte shield! Shield prison!”
Before me three shields expanded to protect us from the front. Behind that line of shields the shield prison cage appeared. Our defenses were set.
It was the most defensive position I’d ever taken. Last time the tortoise used this attack the barrier and shield prison had broken. Let’s see what it could do this time.
When the skills deployed I felt my magic power drain away.
I didn’t know what that meant or if it would help.
I wasn’t sure that I understood what the old woman’s energy was or if I could use it.
But I bet I could survive one more attack from this monster!”
“———!”
A dense stream of particles flew from the tortoise’s mouth.
The attack broke the air strike shield, then the second shield cracked, and finally the particles burst through the dritte shield.
It was a very powerful attack, but it lost power each layer it went through.
It hit the shield prison next.
It stayed put for a few seconds before a hole appeared on one side. The stream of particles flew into the hole.
The interior of the prison filled with light for a moment before breaking.
I held my shield with both hands and readied for impact.
“. . . !”
The power of the stream as it slammed against the shooting star shield force field was amazing, but it wasn’t as strong as last time.
A crack appeared, and then the barrier fell.
The attack was coming straight at me.
I moved my magic power into my hands and gripped my shield with all my might.
“Ugh!”
The shield conducted the charged electric particles. My whole body, inside and out, siz
zled painfully.
I grit my teeth against the pain and pushed forward with my shield.
The attack ceased a few seconds later. I had survived it.
My shield was smoking in my hands.
But Raphtalia and the others were safe behind me.
“I’m ready! Filo?”
“Yes!”
Raphtalia climbed on Filo’s back and released her charged up magic power.
“Spiral . . .”
“Directional . . .”
Dust and light began to swirl around them.
The light split into eight black and white balls.
Raphtalia’s attacks always had a somewhat eastern flair to them.
“Strike!”
“Sword of heaven!”
In a flash, they flew straight through the tortoise’s throat. They moved like a beam of light.
The Spirit Tortoise was shocked.
But no, its body was already sliced apart. It didn’t even have time to react.
That’s right. The massive head was torn clear from its neck, and it flew through the air, showering the whole area with hot blood.
The tortoise’s torso fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
“We did it!”
If its head was gone, it was safe to assume we’d won.
The battle had been easier than I’d expected.
I guess we didn’t really have to get inside it and seal its heart away.
The army behind us was cheering.
“Fehhh...”
Raphtalia and Filo landed and then collapsed.
“We did it.”
“Yeah, you did it. Good work.”
If we could come up with attacks like that, then we weren’t going to lose.
We were definitely much stronger than the other heroes now.
“Yes, that was amazing. Even after all the training we did together, your power was astounding, Raphtalia.”
“Only because you taught me how to do it, Eclair.”
“No, your attack was very surprising. You must be more powerful than even the Sword Hero.”
Compared to Ren? Actually, yeah, she probably was. The other heroes were far too weak.
But he could still power-up, if he’d only listen.
But where were they, anyway? What were they doing?
“And the Shield Hero, Mr. Iwatani, you were amazing. You defended against that terrible attack not once, but twice. You truly are the Shield Hero.”
“Yeah well, that’s all I can do.”
Glass’s attacks in the last wave had been very powerful, but the Spirit Tortoise was no pushover either.
How much longer could I count on being able to defend against these attacks?
If the day came that I couldn’t stop an attack, I wouldn’t be the only one to suffer for it. All my friends would die, too.
I had to remember that.
I didn’t tell anyone, but I promised myself not to let that happened.
“I’m glad that’s over.”
“You were amazing.”
Rishia was very impressed.
I wanted to say something, so I opened my mouth.
“Rishia, you can do everything we did if you work at it.”
“Fehhhh. . . I could never!”
“You can. You will!”
“I could never!”
Rishia just kept saying that she could never do it. I guess we would have to start working on her attitude, too.
We went back and forth for a little while, savoring our victory and the defeat of the Spirit Tortoise.
Chapter Sixteen: The Country Above the Spirit Tortoise
“Mr. Iwatani, I cannot begin to express my gratitude for your efforts in this latest battle.”
I went back to the meeting tent of the coalition army after the battle. The queen and foreign generals there all offered words of gratitude to me.
The crowd of soldiers and adventurers in the camp had also shouted their thanks to me when I walked over.
I have to say, I didn’t hate it.
The only strange thing was that no one had said thank you before.
There had been times when those directly affected by the destruction of the waves had offered their thanks, sure, but no one had ever cheered for me and meant it.
As for the wave in Cal Mira, we hadn’t had the time to celebrate because we’d been so worried about what was coming next.
For the time being, I wanted to immerse myself in the joy of victory. I wanted to savor it, just once.
Recognized as the MVPs of the battle, Raphtalia and Filo were surrounded by enthusiastically cheering soldiers.
“Wow! Mr. Naofumi!”
“Yay! Master! They like us!”
Considering I was a hero, I thought it would be best to avoid the limelight.
Then the crowd split and bowed, forming a path for me to enter the meeting tent.
Eclair, the old lady, and Rishia were standing off to the side, watching.
I guess I was the only one that really needed to stand before the crowd.
“This is all well and fine,” I said, acknowledging their cheers.
I looked through the flap of the tent. I could see the massive body of the Spirit Tortoise where it lay on the battlefield.
It was just lying there, not even twitching, on the silent ground. Clearly, we had won.
“But there is still a problem.”
“What’s that?”
The queen and the others hadn’t noticed yet.
I guess only a hero could really check anyway.
I looked at the icon flashing in my field of vision. The blue hourglass was still there.
The countdown to the waves always appeared immediately when the current wave ended.
So if the icon was still there, what could it mean? The blue hourglass was silent but present.
“The blue hourglass . . . It wasn’t caused by the Spirit Tortoise.”
Something else was going on.
The Spirit Tortoise had fallen easier than I would have expected, and the blue hourglass was still there.
What was it trying to say? It was saying that whatever was going on wasn’t over yet.
“But...”
The whole tent fell silent. Everyone looked around, their faces growing pale.
We’d dealt with the immediate problem. The Spirit Tortoise was dead. But something else was going on.
“I want to you to look some things up for me. There’s still something important we haven’t figured out yet.”
“Mr. Iwatani speaks the truth. Do not let your guards down yet. We must search out the cause of this.”
“I’ll leave it to you then.”
“Then I will send word to the seven star heroes. They are currently on their way here, but I will have them visit the land where the Spirit Tortoise slept to see what they discover. Besides, they would be able to get there sooner than you could, Mr. Iwatani,”
I didn’t know what sort of people these other heroes were, but I don’t think it was the sort of investigation that needed a crowd.
Anyway, I had other things I wanted to look into.
“Please leave the Spirit Tortoise investigation to us.”
“Yeah, good. We’re going to look for the missing three heroes. And the coalition army will probably need help assisting the areas that were damaged in the Spirit Tortoise attack.”
“As you wish.”
The queen left to go investigate the tortoise’s body. The land where it had been sealed away was going to be looked into by the seven star heroes. So what was left for us to do? We needed to backtrack, following the path the Spirit Tortoise had taken, to try and discover what happened to the other heroes.
Still, if we helped the damaged areas we came across along the way, people would start to think better of the Shield Hero.
I wanted the other heroes to understand how different I was from them.
The four heroes had to fight together, and yet I was the only one, along with
Raphtalia and the others, who helped the coalition army in this fight. I should let them know how different we were—I had the right to do so.
There was a feast that went all through the night. I spent a little time there before meeting up with Raphtalia and the others.
“It looks like we are going to go searching for the other heroes pretty soon. We’ll assist any communities we pass through on the way.”
I told the queen to send word if they found anything of interest.
The investigation of the tortoise itself was very important. I wanted to help if I could, but it was also essential that we find and secure the other heroes as soon as possible.
If they were just out wandering around the countryside, I’d have to drag them back to the castle. And if they were hurt or unable to move for some reason, I’d have to find a way to rescue them.
Apparently they weren’t dead—which meant I was going to have to go after them.
They had probably just run away when they realized that they weren’t a match for the Spirit Tortoise.
They did have bad luck with that sort of thing, after all.
“We should check out the back of the Spirit Tortoise, too.”
“You want to climb up on the back of a dead monster?”
“The shell is like a mountain, I think we can get a lay of the land and look for affected towns from up there.”
“Understood.”
The earlier we got started, the better.
They queen had mentioned going inside the tortoise’s body. I hoped that we’d find the other heroes in there.
I had no doubt they realized they were in over their heads when they found themselves face-to-face with the tortoise for the first time.
Maybe they would have decided to sneak under its shell and to fight it from within.
They’d probably come crawling out and find some way to complain about the fact that we had defeated the Spirit Tortoise. That’s just the sort of people they were.
We started the climb up onto the Spirit Tortoise’s shell.
I took a look around. There was a small town nearby.
I wondered what the residents of the town had thought when they realized their homes were actually built on the back of a giant monster.
There was a building that looked like a castle of some kind.
The town itself had a Chinese aesthetic. People said that the Spirit Tortoise had Mount Penglai on its back, so I guess that made sense.